Engine starting mechanism



May 21, 1935. R. P. LANSING V ENGINE STARTING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 30,1931 Q N a L. g s a F \N 1 Q H5 1 .4 II sw g vk m N k R H m b a Q 0 m BQM R an n F a & NT

M H. Wm [M m Patente dMay 21,1935

UNITE-D STATE Enema s'rAa'rmG'MnonAmsM Raymond P.

Lansing, Montclair, N. 1., assignor,

by mesne assignments, to Eclipse Aviation Corporation, East Orange,

1 New Jersey N. J., a corporation of Application September 30, 1931,Serial No. 566,127 9.01m... (c1. 123-179) Thisinvention relates toengine starting mechanism, and particularly to mechanism of the typeemploying a member adapted to impartan initial rotary movement to thecrankshaft or .5 equivalent member of an internal combustion engine. nAn object of this invention is to provide, in combination with acranking member of the foregoing type, novel means for supplying theengine with ignition current in response to rotation of said crankingmember.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hand operated crankinggear mechanism having associated therewith novel means for maintainingthe ignition system in operation notwithstanding a diminution in, oreven complete cessation of the manual effort applied to the handoperated mechanism. In this connection a feature of the invention is theprovision of 20 novel inertia'mechanism operatively connected to theignition control means, whereby energy accumulated therein may beutilized to insure continuance of the ignition action during the periodsof greatest compression in the engine cylinders, even though theoperator should either deliberately or involuntarily stop cranking atsuch a point in the cranking process.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in conjunction with anengine starting mechanism of the type having associated therewith amagneto or similar ignition control device, a oneway driving connectionbetween the starting mechanism and ignition'controlling device, topermit rotation of the latter relative to the 5 rotating members ofthestarting, mechanism.

The use of manually operated cranking mechanism'of the type to whichthis-invention relates has created something of a problem in the matterof obtaining and maintaining proper speed of rotation of the magneto orequivalent ignition facilitating device, it being necessary in practiceto obtain and maintain a. speed of at least 200 R. P. in order to getsufficient current flow, or spar to produce combustion in the enginecylinders. Theoretically, with sufficient speed multiplying gearingbetween the hand crank and the magneto, this should be readilyattainable. In practice, however, difficulty results from the naturaltendency of the operator to slacken to a. certain extent the effort heis applying to the handcrank when the crank reaches {apositioncorresponding to the compression point of one of the enginecylinders.

As a result of such slackening of effort, the handcrank is brought torest at a position where it is most essential that the crankingoperation continue without interruption, since the point of greatestcompression in theengine occurs at, or just prior to, the point ofignition.

The present invention contemplates the provision of means for overcomingthis difliculty. Broadly stated, such means takes the form of aflywheel, or equivalentinertia device, disposed in operativerelation tothe rotor of the magneto or other ignition facilitating device, and alsooperatively related to ,the starting mechanism through a one-way drivingconnection whereby the magneto may continue to operate without beingaffected by the retarding tendency produced by the. compressing actionin the engine cylinders.

These and other objects and features of the invention will'becomeapparent upon considera-- tion of the following detailed description,and upon reference to the accompanying drawing illustrating thepreferred embodiment of the invention. It isto be understood, however,that the drawing is illustrative only, and. is not intended asdefinitions of the limits of the invention, reference being had to theappended claims for such a definition of the limits.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a device embodying theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view along the line 2-4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing and more particularly to Fig. 1, the inventionis shown embodied in a housing constituted by an inner section 4 adapted1 to be bolted or otherwise suitably secured to the rear end of anengine crankcase 5, and anouter portion 6 adapted to be secured tosection 4 by suitable means such as screws 1. Rotatably mounted at,right angles to each other in section 6, are manually operable shafts 9and i0, either of which is adapted to rotatea starterjaw H which, in theembodiment herein shown, is normally out ofengagement with, but ismovable to engage a corresponding jaw I2 formed on the crankshaft of theengine tobe started or on an extension of said crankshaft. r

In the embodiment herein shown the shaft 9 has an end projecting fromthe housing and provided with a pin it whereby the shaft may be rotatedupon application of a suitable handcrank (not shown). On the inner endof shaft 9 is a bevel gear l5 rigidly secured to the shaft 9 by suitablemeans such as the lookout It engaging bevel gear I5 meshes with acorresponding gear |8 rigidly secured to a keyed or milled section ofthe cranking shaft ||l above referred to. This section 20 of the shaftH] is rotatably mounted, with the assistance of a ball bearing member23, in a wall 24 formed in section 5, and is drivably connected to aspur gear 25 and also to a central or sun gear 26 of an assembly ofplanetary gears, to be further described.

The means for drivably connecting gear 25 to the engine-engaging memberpreferably comprises a driving barrel 30 rotatable within a bearingsleeve or liner 3| and inwardly flanged at its right hand end, which isriveted or otherwise secured as shown at 32 to a rotatable plate 33 withwhich the driving pins 34 engage. On each of these pins is mounted oneof the gears 36 of the planetary system, each gear being adapted to meshwith gear 26 and with an internally toothed annulus gear 31 which isrigidly mounted in the housing 4 by suitable means such as the screws39, a dowel member 40 being preferably provided for convenience inassembling and locating the gears in proper position with respect to thehousing.

The driving connections between the barrel 30 and member ll preferablyinclude a yielding friction clutch mechanism which in the embodimentherein shown is constituted by a multiple disc clutch, certain of theclutch discs being splined or otherwise operatively connected tocorresponding splines or slots in the surface of the barrel "30, and ininterleaving relation with the discs 45 are the remaining clutch discs46 which are similarly splined at their inner peripheries to the outersurface of an internally threaded nut 41. Suitable means, herein shownin the form of springs 49 and an adjusting nut 50,-which latter isthreaded to the outer threaded end surface of the member 41, areprovided for adjusting the frictional pressure and hence the torquetransmitting capacity of the assembly of. discs.

Mounted for longitudinal and rotary movement within nut 41 is a threadedshaft 5| which carries a nut 52 that acts as a stop to limit the outwardmovement of shaft 5| relatively. to nut 41. The outer end of shaft 5| islonigtudinally splined to receive the internally splined hub of starterjaw Interposed between the inner face of the hub portion of jaw H andthe adjacent recessed end of shaft 5| is a coil spring 53 whichsurrounds a pin or rod 54, the spring 53 yieldingly resisting movementof the jaw toward shaft 5|.

Rod 54 is concentrically disposed relative to the starter jaw shaft 5|and sleeve 41, and

' slidably extends through these elements, the outer end of said rodterminating adjacent the end of shaft ID. The engine end of rod 54 isthreaded to receive a nut 55 which abuts the outer face of the hubportion of jaw H, and in conjunction with the head on its opposite endmaintains the jaw II in operative relation with shaft 5|. The jaw II isheld yieldably against, rotation as it advances by virtue of its splinedengagement with a split collar having an annular groove on its outersurface for reception of a coiled encircling spring 56, the collar 69being supported on the circumferential lip 51 of the baffle plate orhood 58, the latter being held to the casing by the means shown at 59.

The ignition controlling mechanism preferably comprises a unit 19 heldin place on a plate 16 by suitable means 11, the plate 16 being in turnsupported on a flattened portion 18'of thethe threaded end ll of theshaft 9. As shown, the

extension 19 in which the handcrank I0 is journalled. Associated withthe magneto 10, which may be of any suitable type, is a flywheel orequivalent inertia device suitably connected to a shaft 8|, the latterconstituting an extension of the rotatable element of the magneto. Atthe opposite end of the unit, a pinion 82 has a hollow extension 83constituting the outer race of an overrunning clutch mechanism which isbest indicated in Fig. 3, the inner race being shown at 84 asconstituted by a central extension of a. gear supporting plate 85. Saidplate is also provided with a stub shaft 84a journalled within a sleeve95. A plurality of angularly spaced tapering recesses 86 are provided inthe outer race 83, each having a ball or roller 81 adapted to be urgedby springs 88 into position to constitute a wedging one-way drivebetween the inner and outer races. The plate is provided with pins 86upon which is rotatably mounted pinions 89 and 99 constituting part ofthe planetary gear assembly which also includes the stationary annulusgear 92 which is preferably held in place on the upper housing sections93 and 94 by means of suitable bolts 9|; the 7 gear 92 being in effectan annular track about which the planetary pinions 89 and may revolve,the latter being constantly in mesh with a sun gear or pinion 95connected to or integral with a hollow sleeve or socket 96 drivablyconnected to magnetoshaft 91 through suitable key means 98.

In operation, in response to manual rotation of either the shaft 9 orID, barrel member 30 will be rotated at a speed bearing a ratio to thespeed of rotation of the handcrank which is determined by the reductionratio of the planetary unit. Rotation of the barrel 30 will in turnproduce a corresponding rotation of the sleeve 41 and screw shaft 5|,the latter first moving forward by reason of the nature of itsconnection with the sleeve 41, such forward movement causing the jawmember l to engage the engine member l2 and thereby crank the enginethrough rotation of the member I2, the friction clutch mechanism 45taking care of anyexcessive load occurring during the cranking process.At the same time the driving connection shown at 25 and 82, inconjunction with the one-way driving connection shown in Fig. 3, willproduce operation of the magneto 10. Also, the simultaneous rotation ofthe flywheel 80 will cause a storage therein of a reserve supply ofdriving energy which may be utilized to maintain the rotor of themagneto in operation at the desired speed to continue production ofsufficient ignition current in the engine cylinders, even though themanual operation lags or is completely discontinued on one or moreoccasions during the cranking process.

There is thus provided a novel cranking and 1 plied to a particularengine cranking construc-- tion which has, per se, been usedextensively, and in which the parts areso arranged as to permit rotationof the magneto shaft at a speed much higher than that of the crankingshaft. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the variousparts, including the gearing, may be modifled in any suitable manner tosecure any desired size and type of magneto employed toconform with suchchanges in speed, or to conform with the use of a power, or

means. i

Various other changes may be made in the details of construction of theapparatus and the arrangement of parts. Reference will therefore be hadto the appended claims fora. definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In an internal combustion engine having a crank-shaft and magneto forsupplying ignition current, means for imparting rotation initially toboth said magneto and crank-shaft comprising a gear train having highand low speed ends drivably connected with said magneto and crankshaftrespectively and a member of intermediate speed interposed between saidhigh and low speed ends, means engageable with said intermediate memberfor imparting rotation to both said crank-shaft and magneto, and meansoperable in response to such rotation to enable both said magneto andcrank-shaft to simultaneously overrun said gear train, said last namedmeans including a magneto driving element rotatable by said high speedend of the gear train and free to over-run upon every deceleration ofsaid gear train during the cranking DIOCfiSSyfiHd a crankshaft drivingelement which is free to overrun the low speed end of the gear trainwhenever the crankshaft accelerates to a speed in excess to the geartrain speed.

2. In an internal combustion engine having a crank-shaft and magneto forsupplying ignition current, means for imparting rotation initially toboth said magneto and crank-shaft comprising a gear train having highand low speed ends drivably connected with said magneto and crankshaftrespectively, means engageable with said gear train for impartingrotation initially to both said crank-shaft and magneto, and means there\after operable to enable both said magneto and crank-shaft tosimultaneously overrun said gear train, said last named means includinga magneto driving element rotatable by said high speed end of the geartrain and free to over-run upon every deceleration of said gear, trainduring the cranking process, and a crankshaft driving element which isfree to over-run the low speed end of the gear train whenever thecrankshaft accelerates to a speed in excess to the gear train speed.

3. In an internal combustion engine having a crank-shaft and magneto forsupplying ignition current, means for imparting rotation initially toboth said magneto and crank-shaft comprising a gear train having highand low speed ends drivably connected with said magneto and crank= shaftrespectively, and means' thereafter operable toenable both said magnetoand crank-shaft to simultaneously overrun said gear train, said lastnamed means including a magneto driving element rotatable by said highspeed end of the gear train and free to overrun upon every decelerationof said gear train during the cranking process, and a crankshaft drivingelement which is free to overrun the low speed end of the gear trainwhenever the crankshaft accelerates to a speed in excess to the geartrain speed.

4. In an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft and magneto forsupplying ignition current, means for imparting rotation initially toboth said magneto and crankshaft comprising a gear train having high andlow speed ends drivably connected with said magneto and crankshafthigher speed, cranking respectively and a member of intermediate speedinterposed between said high and low speed ends, means engageable withsaid intermediate member for imparting rotation to both saidcrankshaftand. magneto, and means operable in response to such rotationto enable both said magneto and crankshaft to simultaneously overrun.

said gear train, said last named means including a clutch interposedbetween said gear train and magneto and free to overrun said gear trainupon every deceleration of the latter during the cranking process.

5. In an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft and magneto forsupplying ignition current, means for imparting rotation initially toboth said magneto and crankshaft comprising a gear train having high andlow speed ends drivably connected with said magneto and crankshaftrespectively, means engageable with said gear train for impartingrotation initially to both said crankshaft and magneto, and meansthereafter operable to enable both said magneto and crank shaft tosimultaneously overrun said gear train, said last named means includinga clutch interposed between said gear train and magneto and free tooverrun said gear train upon every deceleration of the latter during thecranking process.

6. In an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft and magneto forsupplying ignition current, means for imparting rotation initially toboth said magneto and crankshaft comprising a gear train having high andlow speed ends drivably connected with said magneto and crankshaftrespectively, and means thereafter operable to enable both said magnetoand crankshaft to simultaneously overrun said gear train, said lastnamed means including a clutch interposed between said gear train andmagneto and free to overrun upon every deceleration of the latter duringthe cranking process.

'7. In an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft and magneto forsupplying ignition current, means for imparting rotation initially toboth said magneto and crankshaft comprising a gear train having its endsdrivably connected with said magneto and crankshaft respectively and amember intermediate said ends, means engageable with said intermediatemember for imparting rotation to both said crankshaft and magneto, andmeans operable in response to such rotation to enable both said magnetoand crankshaft to simultaneously overrun said gear train, said lastnamed means including a clutch interposed between said gear train andmagneto and free to overrun upon every deceleration of the latter duringthe cranking process.

8. In an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft and magneto forsupplying ignition current, means for imparting rotation initially toboth said magneto and crankshaft comprising a gear train having its endsdrivably connected with said magneto and crankshaft respectively, meansengageable with said gear train for imparting rotation initially to bothsaid crankshaft and magneto, and means thereafter operable to enableboth said magneto and crankshaft to simultaneously overrun said geartrain, said last named means including a clutch interposed between saidgear train and magneto and'free to overrun upon every deceleration ofthe latter during the cranking process.

9. In an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft and magneto forsupplying ignition overrun said gear train, said last named meansincluding a clutch interposed between said gear train and magneto andtree to overrun upon every deceleration 01' the latter during thecranking process.

RAYMOND P. LANSING.

